Social mobility charity seeks to hire a Programme Manager (Law)

upReach is an award-winning social mobility charity supporting less-advantaged students to secure graduate jobs in sectors including Law, Consulting, Government & Public Sector and Technology. We deliver a comprehensive programme of professional development to over 2,700 students, working in close partnership with leading employers such as Slaughter and May, Civil Service, Goldman Sachs, Allen & Overy and PwC.

In October 2019, upReach won the Charity of the Year Award (income < £1m) in the prestigious Charity Times Awards, and the charity also won the “Embracing Digital” award in the 2020 Charity Governance Award. In 2021 upReach’s work on the Social Mobility Network was a finalist in the Third Sector Awards ‘Breakthrough of the Year’. The charity was also a finalist in three categories at the Charity Times 2021 Awards including ‘Best use of Technology’ and the ISE Awards 2021 for our partnership with the University of Exeter.

upReach is seeking to hire a Programme Manager to deliver our programme of support for students interested in pursuing a career in Law. This is an exciting opportunity to directly contribute to the growth of the charity by managing multiple employer partnership relationships and leading a delivery team of Programme Coordinators to attract, onboard and provide high-quality to support to Associates (the undergraduates we support).

About upReach

Do you think that your socio-economic background should determine your career prospects? upReach’s vision is of a society in which everybody has an equal opportunity to realise their full career potential. We help young people from less-advantaged backgrounds achieve their career potential by providing an intensive programme of support that addresses socio-economic barriers to graduate employment.

Our work is important because right now a student from a disadvantaged background who gains a first-class degree from a top university is less likely to secure an elite job than a more privileged student with a 2.2.

We are an award-winning charity employer working to address this issue in partnership with employers and universities. Building on the success of the past five years, upReach’s current partners include Bank of America, the Civil Service Fast Stream, Slaughter and May, Accenture, Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC. We also partner with universities including Exeter, King’s College London, Liverpool, Warwick and Manchester.

This academic year, over 2,700 undergraduates (we call them upReach Associates) will be supported through our unique programme of application support, soft skills workshops, Insight Days, mentoring and professional experience.

To find out more about upReach and how we support our students, visit our website and read our Annual Report.

Key Information

Programme Manager: This individual will play a pivotal role in delivering our programme of support for students pursuing a career in Law. This includes managing a team to deliver upReach's Law Springboard, in partnership with Slaughter and May, and overseeing key elements of this programme including attracting new students, planning high quality support and events, managing relationships with key external stakeholders at all levels of seniority and evaluating the impact of the programme.

They will support and coach their team to manage day-to-day partner responsibilities and relationship management, working closely with the Head of Employer Partnerships to ensure that all relationships and events with upReach’s partner employers in law are managed effectively. They will also contribute to strategic decisions about new opportunities to grow upReach's existing Law partnerships and identify new relationships we could build to support our Law Associates.

In addition, they will work with the broader delivery leadership team to form plans and strategies for upReach’s general Associate attraction, programme delivery and team management. 

Role: Programme Manager (Law)
Location: Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham or London.
Hours: Full-time 40 hours per week, 9am - 6pm
Start date: Beginning of January 2022                                                                                    Salary: £26,500 to £35,500 pro rata per annum (including London
weighting if based in London)
Application deadline: 9am on Monday 6th December
Early applications are encouraged, and we may appoint before the deadline.

Core Responsibilities

Programme Design, Delivery and Partnership Management

• Contribute to strategic decisions concerning the design and delivery of our programme of support for students pursuing a career in law, creating a 12 month plan in advance of the start of each recruitment cycle.
• Work with the Head of Sector Programmes to design learning journeys (including events & opportunities) for Law Associates.
• Oversee the development and creation of resources and planning and delivery of events and opportunities relevant to the unique needs of the participants in the Law focused programmes.
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the Law focused programmes with overarching responsibility for meeting internal engagement and application success KPIs.
• Maintain strong relationships with Law employer partners at all levels of seniority, including managing quarterly/annual reporting requirements on stakeholder KPIs.

Team Management

• Manage a team of Programme Coordinators in a variety of locations, providing weekly 1-to-1 support, reviews and personal development support.
• Ensure Programme Coordinators document all interactions with Associates and application progress.
• Support Programme Coordinators in their professional development, including objective setting, performance reviewing and appraisals
• Use relevant dashboards and data to set Programme Coordinator priorities.
• Manage Programme Coordinator progress to ensure that all stakeholder KPIs are achieved.
• Contribute to strategic decisions concerning the resourcing of the Law focused programmes.

Associate Support

• Individual and small group work with Associates - coaching 40 Associates to take the day-to-day steps needed to realise their career potential, which might include career guidance, support with job applications and pastoral support via signposting.

Person Specification

This position would be suited to individuals who are committed to upReach’s mission and have an understanding of, and empathy with, the challenges facing those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

To be successful you should have at least 2-3 years experience working in programme delivery, stakeholder management and leading small teams, and any experience working within the law sector will be viewed very favourably. You should be able to demonstrate a proven track record in building, developing and owning effective long-term relationships with new and existing partners, and in managing stakeholder relationships at all levels of seniority. The ideal candidate will be proactive, resilient and used to managing competing priorities within a varied workload. They should be flexible and willing to perform varying duties depending on the shifting needs of the charity.

Essential Skills/Experience:

1. Experience working in a fast-paced environment and working independently to find solutions to problems.
2. Ability to engage and flex communication style confidently with a variety of stakeholders, such as beneficiaries, upReach partners and all levels of employees across the organisation.
3. Experience working directly with key stakeholders to manage and grow a relationship and/or partnership.
4. Excellent influencing, facilitation and communication skills (both oral and written) and be comfortable preparing and presenting reports and proposals to senior management and external stakeholders.
5. Line management or team leadership experience.
6. Strong programme management and problem solving skills, in addition to superb organisational skills to manage a varied workload.  7. Self-motivation and an ability to work in a small team as well as independently, with a creative and a proactive attitude.
8. At least a Grade ‘B’ in Maths and English GCSE (if you have extenuating circumstances, let us know)*
9. University degree (2:1 or higher)* in any discipline, or equivalent experience.

* The nature of the role requires a high standard of Maths and English, and the ability to quickly review a large amount of information and identify and communicate key themes clearly. Applicants may demonstrate this through the academic qualifications shown above and/or other relevant experience. As our beneficiaries are all undergraduates, a good understanding of the university experience is essential, although it is not necessary that this was acquired through personally gaining a degree.

Desirable Skills/Experience:

1. Experience working with the law sector.
2. Project management qualifications or comparable experience.
3. Experience delivering all aspects of a programme end to end, from design to reporting and evaluation.
4. Experience in marketing a programme or campaign.
5. Familiarity with G Suite and Zoom video conferencing software.

Values & Competencies

upReach upholds the following values:

• Perseverance
• Integrity
• Advocacy
• Aspiration
• Proactivity

We are looking for candidates to display the following competencies during the application stages:

• Problem solving and decision making
• Planning and organising
• Collaboration
• Passion and motivation
• Communication skills

Application Process

Please email your CV and a covering letter (in PDF format) to Sam Gill at
HumanResources@upReach.org.uk by 9am on Monday 6th December. In your covering letter, please explain your motivation for applying to this role, and why you are interested in working at upReach, giving further details about your interest and ambitions.

Early applications are encouraged as we may interview and/or appoint before the closing date. If you have any questions about the role or application process, please reach out to Sam Gill at HumanResources@upReach.org.uk.

Please Note: upReach has a responsibility under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 to ensure that, at the time of starting their employment, successful candidates have permission to work in the UK. Unfortunately, upReach is unable to financially sponsor Visas or work permits.

Equal Opportunities

upReach is an equal opportunities employer and does not discriminate in employment matters on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, disability, social background or any other protected class. We support workplace diversity and believe it creates dynamic and effective organisations. We are working hard to increase diversity in our team and would particularly welcome applications from BAME candidates.

We are committed to making our roles and culture inclusive. We can make reasonable adjustments throughout the application process and on the job. If you have particular needs or requirements, please get in touch using HumanResources@upReach.org.uk.